Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Last Day of Occupy Boston

As police prepare to remove a tent, one occupier attempts to calm his comrades


An occupier attempts to delay the Boston Police Dept. from removing a tent prematurely


An exhausted occupier watches as Boston Police remove a tent he attempted to save


A tent in Dewey Square shows solidarity


An organizer from Tavausa.org flies a flag of peace over Occupy Boston


The beginning of Occupy Boston's last full day at Dewey Square


Occupiers post a sign reminding those both in and outside the camp to stay calm


Physically exhausted from a stressful and frigid night, an occupier finally makes his way towards his tent to catch up on much needed sleep

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

The General Assembly: Direct Democracy at Last



A General Assembly meets in Burlington's Battery Park


One of the facilitators writes a brief script before the meeting


A facilitator embraces her role as time-keeper for the meeting


A member of the General Assembly listens intently


The facilitators discuss how to proceed through a difficult discussion


Members of the General Assembly listen to a proposal from a Working Group


The designated time-keeper emphatically keeps the discussion on topic


A host of occupiers prepare free food off-site for the General Assembly


Free Thanksgiving food is delivered (by whatever means available) to the General Assembly

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

November 17th National Day of Action

On the day of November 17th, millions of people around the world congregated together in solidarity the Occupy Wall Street movement. While turning out significantly fewer numbers than large cities like Boston New York and Denver; Burlington, Vermont was witness to several hundred protestors and occupiers on the move.

Partially as a reminder to Burlingtonians about the recent shut-down of their camp, partially in solidarity with the National Association of Letter Carriers, Occupy Burlington showed, with surprising numbers and volume, that it refuses to gently into that good night.






Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Burlington Democractic Caucus


Recently, the Burlington Democractic Caucus failed to nominate a candidate for mayor, continuing a debate in the voting hall as numerous Occupy Burlington supporters gathered outside to protest the two party system.

"We fight for Josh! We remember Josh!"

On November 10th, 2011 the Occupy Burlington movement lost a valued member of our encampment. Joshua Pfenning, a 35-year-old Army veteran, father, and fellow occupier took his own life. The Burlington Police Department seized this as an opportunity to shut down the occupation and attempt to put down the movement. The following evening the entire General Assembly gathered at the park to remember Josh and remind the community that we weren't going anywhere.








Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Live From Occupied Wall St

The following images are from the autonomous zone known as Occupied Wall Street. I journeyed down to the now fabled Zucotti Park to spend a few nights and try to gather my own visual understanding of what was happening.

It's not exactly an in-depth examination of the cultural and/or political climate of the occupied zone, but an attempt to share with all of you out there in the ether what it's like at the center of the most dramatic movement in history.

Occupied Wall Street is now the Town Square for the world entire.

It is the greek polis and the New England town meeting; it is the street brawl and the family barbecue; it is a survivor's colony and the world's happiest prison camp... complete with streamers, shiny ribbons, and steel barricades.












Friday, October 21, 2011

"SHOW ME WHAT DEMOCRACY LOOKS LIKE!"

As protests and occupations around the country and around the world have continued to grow there has been a remarkable turnout of artists, activists, and community leaders in the tiny state of Vermont. Even in cities as small as Burlington; the anger, passion, energy and is palpable.





Sarah Lee Guthrie leads the crowd in a rousing rendition of "This Land is Your Land" the song her grand-father Woody Guthrie wrote over 70 years ago.





With the oldest demonstrator being well into their 90's and the youngest chant leader being no older than 10 or 11, the self-proclaimed movement of the 99 percent lived up to its name as it held its first General Assembly on 10/16/11 and subsequently marched en masse through the streets of Burlington for the 2nd day in a row. This is what democracy looks like.


Thursday, October 13, 2011

In The Classroom

The following series of photographs document a teacher named Mary Kelley. She is a teacher at a private elementary/high school in Central Vermont for students whose behavior has prevented them from participating in a typical classroom setting in the public school system.

The often difficult and unsung work of teaching children is made exponentially more difficult by a chronic lack of resources, long hours, and rising expenses of books and classroom materials (many of which are paid for out of Ms. Kelley's own pocket). All this in addition to teaching every subject for ages groups ranging from Kindergarten to 6th Grade. Physical confrontations and violent student outbursts are not uncommon in Ms Kelley's classroom as she carefully balances academics and learning with essential acts of compassion and kindness for students whose lives are often on the edge of spinning wildly out of control.

Mary Kelley holding the keys to her classroom.


Ms. Kelley's Classroom


Mary Kelley


The elementary section of Ms. Kelley's school is located in the lower level of the building. It is often cold, dark, and plagued by moldy carpeting and insulation.


In a random act of defiance in class, a 10 year old student crumpled his homework, a halloween themed word search game.


Mary shows the photographer a pair 5lb weights that were thrown at her head the day before.


A chair remains overturned after a student became physically aggressive.


The "break room" where students are permitted go when they need time to be alone. Though spacious, the room is mostly empty to prevent further damage.


Ms. Kelley looks over her classroom after a difficult day.